A Guerra das Rosas (... after all these years...)

IAN BROWN has hit out at former STONE ROSES bandmate JOHN SQUIRE in an astonishing outburst.

Squire recently re-ignited one of the most notorious rock feuds of recent times when he branded his former friend and lead singer a "tuneless knob" and a "paranoid mess".

But talking to the BBC 6Music website, Brown had strong words of his own for the guitarist.

He said: "For me, right, he split up the best band in the country at the time, the Roses, and he went on to do what? Nothing. Nothing to write home about, so he must be a bit bitter because he's got to watch me steaming forward."

"There's no stopping it," he continued. "I announce shows and they're gone in a day. It must be killing the kid. They say he was the best guitarist of his generation, which I think he is. Was. I hear his music now and what's happened to his guitar playing?"

Brown recently began playing Stone Roses songs in his solo sets for the first time since the band's acrimonious split.

He explained: "Do you know how that came about? Someone sent me a CD of a John Squire solo gig and he was playing a few Roses tunes. Man, it was poor. I didn't think he had the right to do that to the tunes, you know, cos he was singing them as well. I don't think you can step up to the mic aged 40 and cut it.

"I didn't think it was right, cos out of respect to the other three lads I'd never played any Roses tunes. I wanted to stand on my own two feet, so I kept away from the Roses and I just did my own thing, but when I heard that CD I thought That's out of order. I thought, If he ain't got the respect then I'm not gonna have none no more so I'm gonna play them myself now." (NME)